Short Takes

October 21, 1999|By STEVE METCALF

*MOVIES

Notting Hill (1999) -- Synopsis: Superstar film actress falls for lowly bookstore manager despite the fact that he's poor and parts his hair in the middle in an unbecoming way. A breakthrough performance for Hugh Grant in that he reduces his eye blinking to seven blinks per sentence, down from his career average of just over 30. (20th Century Fox)

And God Created Woman (1956) -- The film that launched Brigitte Bardot's career in the United States. The then-shocking sex scenes are approximately as explicit as a current J.C. Penney foundation garment ad. (Home Vision)

* PIANISTS

Liberace -- For you younger readers, Liberace was a popular piano soloist whose playing gave some people a really good feeling, sort of like Jim Brickman except that Liberace could also play fast notes. (MPI)

* POP MUSIC

Cher: Live in Concert -- It doesn't get any better than this: a middle-aged woman with an irritating vibrato singing ``Half-Breed.'' (HBO)